Witches Of East End Q&A: Daniel Di Tomasso Talks Killian's Chemistry With Freya

October 13, 2013 11:28 AM EDT

He was the tall, dark and handsome stranger who made Freya Beauchamp’s (Jenna Dewan Tatum) pulse race at her own engagement party, but this week, “Witches of East End” will reveal more about Daniel di Tomasso’s character, Killian Gardiner.

“Moving forward, he becomes so much more,” Daniel told AccessHollywood.com of getting beyond the mysterious bad boy audiences met in last week’s series premiere on Lifetime, the one who ended the episode trying to start a platonic relationship with his brother’s fiancee. “We’re going to start to see that character develop and in many ways develop towards a character that maybe is surprising to some.”

“That’s kind of what originally attracted me to this character,” Daniel continued, down the phone line from Vancouver, where the show is filmed. “It’s always fun for an actor to explore a duality and that’s really what Killian’s about. He pretty much presents himself a certain way to the world, but is very much something else.”

There were little hints that Freya and Killian may have some sort of history (one that dates back 400 years or more), but as of yet, neither party knows why they have an electric connection.

“Freya just draws him to her and he finds himself in the eye of the storm so to speak,” Daniel explained. “It’s gonna be one big conflict now, which he doesn’t want anything to do with, but he cannot get himself to move away from her.”

In a new interview with Access (for the Team Killian fans), Daniel revealed more about Killian’s feelings for Freya and teased the big reveals still set to unfold over the season.

AccessHollywood.com: Freya didn’t know Killian was Dash’s brother when she first saw him in the season premiere. We found out he’s been away for a while. Do you know where Killian has been all this time?

Daniel di Tomasso: Dash conveniently left that information out — and he has his reasons too. … We’ll touch on that later in the season. But… I think to understand Killian, you probably have to understand a little bit of his family dynamic and it was one that really favored Dash. [Killian has] always kind of been seen as the black sheep in the family and I think early on, he removed himself from the circumstance. He wasn’t comfortable in it. He didn’t want to be constantly compared to his brother, who’s seemingly perfect, and so he left. … He’s been travelling around for, I guess, the last five years. He hasn’t even written his mother. I know the mothers won’t like that, but he has his reasons.

Access: When are we going to get to find more about who Killian is?

Daniel: I think the episode that’s airing Sunday will give people a better idea of at least the relationship with his brother. … We’ll start to see how he deals with his brother and how his brother deals with him. It’s gonna be very revealing. … Let’s just say that the layers of the onion start to unravel a little bit the further we go on in the season. You’ll see more color. … Not everything’s positive, but at least you’ll get to know Killian better and that enigma — that kind of mystery around him — slowly starts to dissipate a bit. But, I think the more you learn, the more… you’re gonna be confused as to what the connection is with Freya and what’s going in that relationship.

Access: You mentioned the connection with Freya. They obviously have a deep connection. Do you think it’s a classic love story? A pair of star-crossed lovers throughout time kind of thing?

Daniel: It’s that, multiplied by a million. There are connections and underpinnings in that relationship that go far, far beyond Killian’s understanding of what’s going on and Freya’s too and it’s kind of ironic if you think about it. Killian — his whole deal is just to avoid confrontation and avoid competition with his brother. … He lives in the moment and Freya’s the only thing that I think he’s ever been in pursuit of. She draws him back towards the circumstance that he left. He left that town. He left his mother and brother… and he finds himself right back where he doesn’t want to be. … There’s definitely a connection there that is stronger than him and stronger than her and they’re both trying to grapple with what that is.

Daniel: It’s really funny. I love that (laughs). ‘Frash’ almost sounds violent. ‘Frash’ would be Freya and Dash and ‘Frillian’ is Freya and Killian. There’s a nice ring to it.

Access: Don’t you think Dash is a better fit for Ingrid?

Daniel: Dash?… Dash is the perfect guy. He’s responsible, strong, intelligent, handsome, rich. He’s a golden boy. He is everybody your mother would want you to settle down with. Killian, on the other hand, is kind of this — he’s a fantasy production of the bad boy that I think every girl probably wants to fix, but they all have their time with the bad boy and usually, it doesn’t work out. It’s just a perfect triangle, but then you add the element of what is going — what’s the history behind this. … There’s that element of mystery, the supernatural element that I think just elevates the whole circumstance and makes it that much more powerful and engaging. I think that’s going to be very, very cool.

Access: You’re shooting in Vancouver. It’s getting cold up there, and you shoot a lot of outdoor scenes. How are you managing it?

Daniel: I’ve been living in LA for a couple of years now, so I’ve guess I’ve gotten a little softer, but I was born and raised in Montreal so Vancouver has got nothing on Montreal when it comes to weather. After this conversation I’ll probably end up going for a walk in maybe a light sweater.

Access: Or maybe jump in the cold ocean because you can just handle that?

Daniel: Well…. I’m not quite in the Polar Bear Club…

Access: Ha! So before I let you go, apparently the cast has become fast friends. Do you spend much time with each other outside of work?

Daniel: We do. That’s something that I’ve just been so excited about, that I’ve made friends.

Access: That doesn’t always happen!

Daniel: That’s what I’ve been told, so this has kind of been my first big, I guess, breakthrough, I suppose and it was so easy as far as getting along with everybody and everybody’s so supportive… of each other and it’s just a wonderful environment to play. It’s just perfect, really.